Chin strap for helmet



Jan. 13, 1959 R. T. JONES cam STRAP FOR HELMET Filed Sept. 13, 1955 IN V EN TOR.

@5671 T Jrzas United States CHIN STRAP :FoR' HELMET Robert T. Jones, Oak Park, Ill., assignor to lfohp T. Riddell, Inc.,,Chicago, Ill., a corporation of IlllIlOlS This invention is .concerned generally with improvements in athletic equipment, and more particularlyyvi th a chin strap for football helmets.

At one time football helmets were held on the head of the wearer by'means of anarrow strap passing beneath the chin substantially. at the junction of .thechin and the throat. Such straps proved generally satisfactory in resisting upward forces, but allowed helmets tobeknocked from the heads of wearers by forces .urging the helmets backwards relative to the heads. In recent years, a type of chin strap has become popular which is provided with a cup fitting over the point of the chin of the wearer. Such a chin strapresists both upwardand rearward forcfis,

therebyholding the helmet more securely on theplayers.

head, and additionally providessome-measureof protection for the point of the chin. This inventionislcoucerned with ,a chin strap of the latter type, and it is.to be understood that this is the type intended hereinafter whenever the term chin strap is used.

.Chin straps heretofore have;been made of leather. It will be apparent that leather articles are not .very. washable,-and absorb large quantities, of perspiration when in contact with the-skin,ofamathlete. Such absorptionof perspiration leads to soiling of the. chin strap, andfurther ,to mildewing thereof and of drying out and cracking. Leather is not particularly ,resistant ,to ;abrasion, .,it stretches substantially, and .colors. can be.,applied .gen-

.erally only to the surface thereof ,where the y .become chipped oil? or discolored. Leathercis of nonuniform characteristics, allowing weak .spots to be present ;which lead to early failure. Furthermore, nonuniform thickness andsize renders application ofslip on-buckles or snaps to leather straps difiicult. In additio-n,. the.leather straps stretch considerably in. use, and they. are, notNcIy comfortable to wear.

Accordingly,it isan objectof thisinvention to provide a chin strap which overcomes therdifficulties s et-forth above.

It is afurther objectof inventionto provide a n improved method of making chin straps for .footballhelmets and they like.

Yet another object of this invention,is to provide a chin strap for football helmets and the like, and'also a -method of making the same, which are more economical "than those heretofore known in the art.

Other and further objects and advantages'ofthisinvention will beapparen't from the following description when taken in connection with the-accompanying =drawings wherein: n

Fig. 1 is a perspectiveview ofa chinstrapas constructed in accordancewith the principles-of my invention shown as it is used;

Fig. 2 is a side view-partially;in sectionofgthe, chin str p;

atent F ,slots 20 near theopposite ends .thereof.- The en pf .the threads of the web from rav'lli ng. ;The. ext

2,867,811 Patent d J 1 3, i;9

through the cup .showancl the like made of cloth fabric andQWeb-bingimpr'eg- ,nated with vinyl plastic.

v The chin strap so produced is washable. Itis abrasion resistant and mi dew resistant.

It is of uniform thickness and size, and fwillnot stretch J substantially. Any color imaginable canbeutili zedand thecolorsgo all the-way 7 stantially everlasting colors, and the same .glossy finish througdtherebyleading to subis producedasis foundfon m odernh elments The ch in strap is strong, durable andcomf'or table .andiwill not dry outjor crack afterwetting.

I} efe rring now, in greater particularity to the drawing, and first to, Fig. 1, there will befseen a foo tball a helrnet 10 as .Wornby aplayer 12. The helmet maybe o any standard construction and includes .male', snap fasteners a51jac ent the lower corners of the ear covering portio ns as, at 14. A chin strap designated, generally, byl the nurneral l6 is detachably. secured were .male snap fasteners on the helmet by means of buckles or female s a fasteners 17.

Ihe helmetand snaps thereonmay 'be of anygonyentional construction, and such;.helrnets.at the present time generally are made of ,a rather hard and tough plastic mat ria al hsush y h me sti -ar i id "LIhe buckles ,or female snap. fasteners i 17 are .t onal. ons ruc io including -;pla -;.P9r q the strap 16 as may be seen in Fig. "2 .fitthrough the slots;20, and ;the Slots are provided .on .an appropriate edge; with tee th ZZ t resist retraction ofthe strap} fromthe buckles ,Qtf fi enfi sv i V i i W I M flfhe ehin strap 16 includesa central cup 2 4.- yvhi ch;is forrnedasa cup or pocket to ;fit over-,the chirij26 of the p la yer, and which in outline.isgenerally pblgngpr elliptical, having longitudinally .extending;:tabs 28- on the opp osite ends thereof. The cup,2 4 .preferjql blys 1154 of heavy cloth and isstretchedto shape ,by.the application. of heat preferablyaccompanied by steam,; in;a ;glie.

Ihecup also preferably isv impregnated with a. vinyl plastic as hereinafter willbe brought out; fully. The chinstrap 16also includesa web30. 'lhewjeb-is ,tudinally split atthe center thereof.as..is indica d atQZ to run along the opposite longitudinal edges ofjhecup 24 as at 34. The.web,30.is-madepfheavy cloth;webhing and is impregnated. with thesame. vinyl .plas tic as the cup. This vinyl plastic serves also to ."hold the c p oin placefin the-web. v It also .servesftoprevent.sp litting of the tapebeyond the slit; at 32,,and,.pieven;ts,the cutgends rerne endsg36 of ,the web extend through-the; buckles or female .N,,, nap fasteners- 17.. as previously; has .beeniindicated.

" F,ur ther reference" to the structureflof the chin strap ,will bemade duringand after a discussion lof .the process of. manufacturing the strap. First; theweb0 is ;woven .a ua ari e-s p.s F s ,b i icate n3 P e 7 Ihi st i 38 is mp nat with. a vinyl. pl s i inf theatre-imam asa pl s sol. .I he. nylimpre tion of the vinyl plastic then is partially cured or fed along a predetermined and partial curing, and then is split as at 32. The partially cured vinyl plastic material prevents further sp1it ting and precludes ravelling. The cup then is formed as in Fig. 8, preferably by the application of steam or of water and heat in a mold, and thecup preferably is formed as one of a series in a strip offabric material. The cup then is impregnated with the same vinyljplastic material, either from one, or from both sides,"an'd this polymerized. The strip 38 is W path during such impregnation vinyl plastic material is partially cured. 'At this time the cup is still preferably one of the series. The cup then is cut to the configuration specifically illustrated in Fig. 8 andis inserted in the split 32 in the tape, the split by this time having been separated to form the two spaced apart web portions 34. The impregnation of the web and of the stick together, and the cups are trimmed to their final outside shape in a die and are simultaneously bonded to the web by the application of heat, preferably accomto complete curing or polymerization material. A double die then cuts the web midway between successive splits or slits 32 to form panied by pressure,

the trailing end of one chin strap and the leading end of the next chin strap. The cured or completely polymerized vinyl plastic bonds the cup 24 permanently and firmly to the web 30. The buckle or female snap fasteners then are applied by hand as will be understood.

In some instances it may be desirable to provide for ventilation of the cup 24. In this instance, as is shown partially cured vinyl cup causes them to at 24a in Fig. 5, the cup may be perforated, having a plurality of holes-or apertures 40 provided therein. Some degree of ventilation also could be provided by omitting the vinyl impregnation of the cup except along the edges thereof where it is bonded to the split sections 34 of the web. This modification is not specifically illustrated due to the impossibility of indicating the presence or absence of the impregnating material in the cup.

:Another expedient which might be adopted to provide some ventilation,and which is of considerable value from a comfort standpoint is illustrated in Fig. 6. In this embodiment of the invention, like parts being identified by similar numerals with the addition of the suflix b, the construction heretofore shown and described remains identical, but a lining or padding material 42 is provided on the inner surface of the cup. This lining or padding material can comprise a fieecy material made of synthetic fibers which do not absorb and hold moisture, or

it can be made of foam rubber, or other suitable material glued or cemented, or otherwise suitably secured to the inner surface of the cup. This lining also'm ght include flocking material blown against the inner surface of the cup before the final curing or polymerizing of the vinyl plastic, or it might be flocking otherwise held in place. It will be understood that it is preferred that the It will be apparent that the chin strap heretofore shown and described and the process ofmaking the same present many advantages over the prior art.

The chin strap is completely washable without damage. It abrasion resistant, and it is mildew resistant. It is stronger and more durable than any previous chin straps with which I am familiar, and it will not dry out or crack after wetting. Since it is readily formed to shape and does not change in dimensions with age and use, it

" 1s more comfortable to start with and remains more corn *forta ble throughout its service life than prior chin straps witl-i which I am familiar. Unlike leather, the material is of uniform thickness and size, and therefore is adapted for handling by automatic machines and methods, and

the buckles or fasteners are more readily applied. The chin strap will not stretch appreciably, and this prevents loosening of the helmet, and obviates the necessity of adjusting the buckles or fasteners on the strap from time to time. The chin strap readily can be made in any imaginable color, and thecolors are incorporated in the vinyl plastic material and therefore extend entirely through the chin strap. Accordingly, the colors do not change with time or become worn away. Also, the appearance of the chin strap is similar to the glossy finish now popular in football helmets. From the advantages listed heretofore, it will be understood that the chin strap also is stronger and more durable than prior chin straps in general.

as they fall'within the spirit and scope of the appended claims,

The invention is claimed as follows:

1. The process of manufacturing a chin strap for use with a football helmet or the like, which comprises providing an elongated woven flexible web slit longitudinally to provide divided sections of the web intermediate its ends, impregnating said web with a heat-curable resinous substance, forming a cup-shaped member of a flexible fabric to accommodate the chin of a wearer, impregnating at least the peripheral section of said cup shaped member with a heat-curable resinous substance, partially curing the plastic material of said web and of said cup, inserting said cup between the divided sections of said web with its peripheral section in overlapping face-toface contact with the divided sections of the web and with the undivided sections thereof immediately adjacent the divided sections, and heating the thus formed assemblage to complete the curing of the resinous substance to form a flexible cured composition and to'bond said cup and web together.

2. The process of manufacturing a chin strap for use with a football helmet or the like, which comprises providing an elongated web of woven cloth, impregnating said web with a vinyl plastisol, partially curing said plastisol, slitting said web intermediate 'the ends thereof substantially along the center line thereof, shaping a cloth cup to accommodate the chin of a wearer, impregnating said cloth cup at least along the edges thereof with a vinyl plastisol, partially curing the vinyl plastisol of said cup, inserting said cup in the slit of said web with the partially cured plastisol of said web and of said cup in contact, and completing curing of the plastisol of said web and of said cup to bond said web and said cup together.

3. In a completely washable, flexible, substantially unstretchable, perspirationand mildew-resistant chin strap for a helmet, the combination including: an elongated flexible woven web of suitable dimensions slit approximately along its longitudinal axis for a suitable distance intermediate its ends, the sections of the web separated by the slit being spaced from one another to define a roughly oval opening through the web; a roughly oval cup-shaped member of woven flexible material located in the oval opening having its peripheral section overlapping and in flat face-to-face contact with the spaced sections of the weband with the unslit sections thereof immediately adjacent the spaced sections; and..a heatcured flexible resinous composition covering and permeating the elongated web and at least the peripheral section of the cup-shaped member and binding them together throughout the region of overlap.

.4. chin strap as claimed in claim 3 wherein the resinous composition covers and permeates the entire cupshaped member.

5. A chin strap as claimed in claim 3 wherein the heatcured resinous composition is a heat-cured vinyl plastisol.

6. A chin strap as claimed in claim 3 wherein the cupshaped member is provided with a ventilating perforation.

7. A chin strap as claimed in claim 3 wherein a lining of padding material is secured to the concave surface of the cup-shaped member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Knox July 12, 1932 Preston Feb. 26, 1935 Manson Apr. 2, 1935 Flynn et al. Feb. 8, 1944 Shroyer et a1 June 13, 1944 

